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Actually businesses could pay zero dollars (and many do) and STILL move overseas. Why? Because the economic driver ISN’T taxes, it’s the cost of labor. The point of any discussion on fixing the budget MUST include discussions of raising taxes. You simply CAN’T cut enough to get to the point where the budget balances (never mind start to pay down the debt) unless you raise taxes. It simply won’t work.

Let’s also accept that EVERYTHING has to be on the table. This means ending the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan NOW, closing 1/2 of all overseas military bases NOW, firing about 1/2 of all government support contractors NOW, Cutting DOD and DHS by about 50% NOW, and then tackling entitlements. Yes, we’ll have to increase the age for retirement. Yes, we’ll have to means test for Social Security and Medicare. No, privatization isn’t the answer because (as we’ve seen from the recent financial bail out) businesses really AREN’T more efficient or effective than government… they just SAY they are. We should roll back the tax cuts to the Clinton era levels, that’s hardly back breaking. We should eliminate subsidies and tax breaks for oil companies. We should close all corporate tax loopholes so that a company that makes 14 Billion dollars in one quarter does not pay ZERO taxes. We will have to incentivize the people on unemployment to start working in lower paying jobs. Finally, we should stop subsidizing the outsourcing of jobs to third world countries through tax expenditures, policy, and law.